


29 Days

by firstsnow (sehuna)



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, semi-au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-11 04:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5613931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sehuna/pseuds/firstsnow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twenty-nine days in the life of Morisawa Chiaki and Sena Izumi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings

It’s cold out, even for early spring. The wind and light rain harsh against Izumi’s face—the only area of bare skin he’d ever allow in this weather, really.

He shivers then pulls his jacket around himself tighter with one arm, the other gloved hand gripping the umbrella’s handle like his life depended on it as he quietly grumbled to himself.

Cold. It’s always too cold.

He sighs, eyes closed as he slowly makes his way to school. There’s no one to be wary of this early in the morning, no one to see him sluggishly walking (dragging his body, really) to school. He fights back another shiver—but can’t hold back the yawn that escapes, dammit—refusing to lose to the cold air at the very least.

A flash of blue runs past him, splattering a few drops of rain water at the bottom of his trousers and he stops, just three steps away from entering school grounds. He glances around him, looking for someone to glare and lash at for ruining the bottom of his pant legs but sees nobody, only the barely there sun covered by dark clouds and rain—getting stronger and stronger with every minute that passes.

It’s at that moment that he feels that the next three years will be annoying as hell.

* * *

“Sena, hey!”

Izumi freezes and lifts his head up at the sound of the familiar cheeful voice ahead of him, snapping his wallet close in an instant and slipping it in the slightly open front pocket of his bag, metro pass completely forgotten.

“Chia-kun?” Izumi says, thankful his voice didn’t break and looks at anywhere but the brunette’s face, eyes settling on the motorcycle Chiaki is standing next to, helmet nestled in between the other boy’s arm and side, “What are you doing here?”

“I live here,” Chiaki answers, pointing at a small two story house just a few meters from where he’s parked.

Izumi hums in acknowledgement, “Well, I guess I better be going now,” He’s only taken two steps when Chiaki speaks again, completely ignoring what Izumi has just said.

“I didn’t know you lived around here too. Why didn’t you tell me?” There’s a hint of child-like excitement in the older boy’s voice and Izumi knows he’s not going anywhere until he’s been dismissed.

_Why’d I have to run into him of all people?_

Sigh.

“I don’t. I was on my way to the station–”

“What are you doing here then?” Curious Reddish-brown eyes meet exhausted Aquamarine ones, “I mean it’s late already so why…?”

"Work,” Izumi gestures towards the general direction of his modeling company’s building, “And like you said, it’s late so I really should…”

“I’ll take you!”

“…be going—what?”

“I’ll take you home!” The excitement and enthusiasm is back in Chiaki’s voice (did it ever leave?) and Izumi’s a little taken aback by the straight-forwardness.

“It’s fine. I can go by myself. It’s not even that far.”

“Don’t be silly, Sena. Here, we can ride my bike,” Chiaki pats the seat of his parked motorcycle, “It’ll be fun. Promise.”

“Thanks but no thanks. I trust you but not that much.”

“Aww com'on, Sena. Live a little. Here,” Long fingers suddenly curl around Izumi’s forearm (when did he get so close?), tugging him closer to the motorcycle and before he knows it, the spare helmet is already on his head and Chiaki’s warm hand is fastening the helmet’s buckle under his chin.

“Chia-kun…”

“Shh. Just…trust me and let yourself go for once, yeah?”

Chiaki’s smiling down at him and _it’s so bright and irritating–_

Despite himself, Izumi nods.


	2. Accusation

"You're heading north right?" Kaoru asks as soon as they've entered the station.

"Yup! Sena and I take the train over that way," Chiaki says, pointing at the overpass leading to the other side of the platform, still chipper even after what Izumi would consider a long day at school, "Though we still have time to kill, right...? It's been a while since we've all hung out."

Izumi nods instead of speaking, scarf pulled up high over his mouth and reddening nose. Why didn't this station have a heating system for cold winter days anyway?

"I have no date tonight so it should be fine– wait, you guys go the same way?" Kaoru asks, eyebrows raised at Izumi. 

"Come to think of it," he taps his chin with his index finger, eyes gazing up as if in deep thought, "I don't think we've ever walked home together before, huh? It was always just the two of us last year," he gestures to both him and Chiaki.

"Well I do have work earlier on most days," Izumi answers, voice slightly muffled by the big red scarf wrapped around his neck.

"Oh modeling right? That reminds me–"

"No, I won't introduce you to any of the female models," Izumi interjects—scarf pulled down to allow him to speak properly—before the tallest of the three can even finish his sentence.

Kaoru heaves a sigh but not looking disappointed in the slightest, "It was worth a shot," he fake-sobs, Chiaki's bright laughter following it along with a hard clap on the back of his shoulder. The force of the action making the blonde stumble a little as they walk towards a quaint cafe—Kaoru's favorite—a little ways ahead.

"You have it hard, huh Hakaze?"

Kaoru laughs lightly at the rhethorical question while the corner of Izumi's lips curl up just slightly, murmuring while shaking his head, "Idiots. The both of you."

"Thanks~" they say in unison—Chiaki even saluting—before they stop walking completely as a new wave of laughter hits them.

_They really are idiots._

Izumi's phone vibrates in his pocket and he pulls it out, gesturing at the other two who were finally starting to calm down before turning away, silently excusing himself to answer his phone, "Hello?"

He can vaguely hear Kaoru and Chiaki conversing behind him as well as the quiet murmurs of people passing by as he tries to listen intently to his manager, who is reciting his _new_ schedule for the day, on the other end of the line.

Keyword being: _tries_. 

Nevertheless, he hums in acknowledgement before hanging up, quickly checking the time on his phone and then cursing under his breath. He briskly walks the few steps back over to the other two and tugs on Chiaki's arm lightly, catching the flinch and small wince the brunette let out at the contact, "Chia-kun, change of plans. We have to go now."

"We?"

The implication of Kaoru's question catches Izumi off-guard. _We? Of course, it's we. But then, why? Why does he want Chiaki to accompany him anyway? He'll be perfectly fine leaving by himself...right?_

"…promise. Sorry, Hakaze," Izumi hears Chiaki try to explain, hands clapped together and head bowed slightly in apology.

_What just happened?_

"Rejected by my date and now my friends. Harsh," Kaoru chuckles despite his words, "Go. Before I change my mind and kidnap you both."

"Thanks Hakaze! I owe you!" Chiaki grins and pulls Izumi's hood up on his head, "Don't fight the cold, Sena," the brunette whispers softly before wrapping an arm around his small shoulders and leading him back to the station.

"GET A ROOM!!" Kaoru hollers a little while later and Izumi turns back to see the blonde smirking before running away in the opposite direction.

The grip on his shoulders tighten suddenly, preventing him from going after the blonde so he redirects the glare at the ever-smiling Chiaki instead.

"What did you say to him?" Izumi growls, voice barely above a whisper.

If possible, Chiaki's smile grows wider.

"The truth."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait!  
> so the event's finally over. otsukare~ did everyone get the card that they wanted? I know I did : )  
> that said, I hope you enjoyed this little 3-A trio chapter. (I'm sorry I couldn't resist.)  
> I'm actually a little tired and brain dead from both the event and school starting up again so sorry if this is less than decent. but hopefully I can write more (and better) now that it's downtime!  
> until next time~


	3. (Let me be your) Superhero

"Honestly Chia-kun, don't you have any sense of self-preservation?" Izumi says as he carefully wraps a bandage around Chiaki's arm. The gash he got from a sharp branch when he fell off a tree earlier that day still bleeding but thankfully not as profusely as before.

"Of course I do! But I can't just ignore someone who needs my help," Chiaki nods and pumps his uninjured arm as if to make a point. His eyes shining with confidence and intense satisfaction and Izumi can practically feel the passion radiating off Chiaki's body.

He sighs.

_This boy is completely hopeless._

"It was a stray cat—not even a kitten but an actual adult cat. If it got up there by itself then it can go down by itself just fine as well," Izumi explains in the simplest form he can while tying the bandage up. _And done!_

"A cat is still a living thing, Sena. What kind of hero would I be if I didn't try to save it? After all, the red flames are the mark of justice! Bright re—mmph."

Izumi cuts Chiaki's abrupt exclamation of his introduction line short with a hand over the brunette's mouth, "Shut up. Cheesy lines like that are annoying."

Chiaki tries to say something in response but all Izumi can comprehend is that what the brunette is saying sounds like gibberish to him and that there's suddenly a lot of spit on his palm. 

 _Gross._  

He makes a disgusted face at Chiaki and withdraws, grabbing the bottle of rubbing alcohol from the first-aid kit sitting beside him and pouring a little bit over both his hands to sanitize them. He isn't done with mending Chiaki's wounds after all and who knows what the older boy has put into his mouth after brushing his teeth that morning.

(Well, to be honest, he does know but he'd rather not think about it.)

"Your hands will dry out if you use those too much," Chiaki warns, the genuine concern laced into his voice making Izumi actually _feel_ things all of a sudden—

_Full stop. Rewind. Go._

"Haa? When have you ever seen me use these?" The thought itself is ridiculous. Izumi isn't exactly what one would call a germaphobe, and even if he was, he'd much rather use something gentler on his skin. A public figure must always take care of their physical appearance after all.

(Now if only Chiaki would get that through his thick head.)

"Well, you have a big bottle of it at your place and the last time I went, I saw one in your room too."

_Is it that unnatural to be prepared for the worst nowadays?_

"Of course I have those. I have a full first-aid kit in my room now too if you didn't notice," Izumi states in defense, as if having a personal kit separate from your family's is the most common thing in the world.

"What for?"

There's an almost child-like innocence in the older boy's tone of genuine curiosity but that doesn't stop Izumi from tensing up, the question still catching him off guard. He regains his composure almost immediately after though, his hands too busy to even shake with nerves as he dips a small piece of cotton in disinfectant using tweezers. The answer is obvious—or at least, he thinks it is—but he doesn't say it. Even if Chiaki isn't one to tease excessively, Izumi would rather not inflate the older boy's ego even more.

He dabs the disinfectant-covered cotton over the three-lined scratch on Chiaki's face, the older boy only flinching at the first contact then staying still—unusually quiet—throughout the rest of the process.

Not that Izumi notices the odd behavior; his mind running through a thousand excuses a minute and discarding the obvious lies because as much as he hates to admit it, Chiaki's definitely gotten better at reading him over the months they've been together.

_Stop. Save. Speak._

"The same reason you have them all over your house," Izumi mumbles in answer to the question he's not even sure Chiaki remembers asking anymore. The statement not really a lie but not exactly the whole truth either. He avoids eye contact, just in case, and focuses on cutting up strips of medical tape, the gauze already cut and prepared by his side.

"But your mom's not a doctor. Wait was it your dad? You never talk about him so—"

Izumi's palm is suddenly pressing down hard on Chiaki's cheek and the not-so-gentle way of taping the gauze on makes the older boy cry out a little, successfully interrupting the interrogation.

"Stop with the twenty questions. It's annoying."

That, at the very least, is the full truth; cold and hard but still the truth nonetheless.

With the mending over and done with, Izumi swiftly packs up all the medicine and unused materials, grouping together the things to be disposed off in one pile and the things to be washed in another. Chiaki's eyes are trained on Izumi all the while; quietly watching him, waiting.

It's unnerving. 

Although if he's going to be honest, Chiaki's silence is even scarier than the staring.

"Izumi."

And then there's that. 

Calling him by his first name isn't something Chiaki does often. But on those rare times he does, he says it in such an affectionate tone it makes Izumi feel a little sick (feverish?), his stomach doing somersaults while all the heat suddenly rushes up to his face. It's weird and he wants the light-headed feeling to _stop_.

This is all Chiaki's fault.

He hopes the dimness of the living room will be enough to hide the pink flush on his cheeks. After all, their only sources of light are the fireplace directly in front of them and the orange glow of setting sun outside the window five paces left from where they're sitting. It should be dark enough right?

The grin on Chiaki's face says otherwise.

_Damn him._

"What?" he asks, turning his head to watch the fire crackling, his arms crossing over his chest. He lowers his voice, trying to sound hostile to show his displeasure at the current situation but the slight tremor in his tone betrays his intentions.

The worst part is Izumi _knows_ Chiaki heard it too.

"Do you want some hot chocolate?" Chiaki's uninjured hand reaches over to play with the ends of Izumi's hair just above the juncture of his shoulder and neck, fingertips grazing the skin underneath the strands as he asks this, his voice softer than ever—a completely foreign sound even to Izumi's trained ears.

"Idiot. I have to follow my diet or else—"

"You skipped lunch again though so a little chocolate won't hurt right?"

Izumi scowls at being interrupted but with just a twist of his head and one look at Chiaki's eager face, the words  _"Ok fine,"_  escape his lips before he can even think about it.

Chiaki is already beaming at being given the green light by the time Izumi thinks to withdraw the statement and to back-up from this path he knows he'll regret taking in the future. He doesn't get a chance to, however, the words dying in his throat when Chiaki leans in to nuzzle against his temple in gratitude, hot puffs of air hitting Izumi's ear as Chiaki laughs silently in happiness and excitement, whispering,  _"I'll put extra marshmallows in yours~"_  before finally pulling away completely and dashing off to the kitchen.

 _Stop._ His mind screams once Chiaki disappears from his field of view. Stop what? He doesn't know (time? this feeling?). 

He slouches and tips his head back, resting it against the top of the couch's backrest. He can sort of make out Chiaki's figure from this angle, a blur of red and black caused by his rapid movements to and fro within the spacious kitchen. Izumi tries to follow with his eyes but Chiaki's sheer speed give it too much of a strain.

Maybe a little rest will help.

 

 

The scent of hot chocolate in the air is the first thing he senses upon stirring awake, a groggy sound escaping him as he shifts into a more comfortable position against the warmth that is Morisawa Chiaki, "How long was I out?" Izumi asks, rubbing the sleep out of his eye with a curled fist.

"About fifteen minutes or so," Chiaki replies, tucking his phone—what the brunette used for entertainment while he was asleep, Izumi guesses—in his pocket before turning to face Izumi, "You looked so peaceful. I didn't have the heart to wake you."

"Hmm~" Izumi hums softly, eyes fluttering close as he relaxes his muscles, "So you _are_ capable of making good decisions."

"Most of my decisions are good decisions if I do say so myself!" There it is again, that unwavering confidence. Izumi doesn't know where Chiaki gets it from when he comes home with new injuries more often than not.

"If saving that cat earlier is what you consider a good decision then I'll have to reconsider the option of putting you in-charge of my future children."

(Not that Chiaki was particularly high on Izumi's reliable and responsible people list to begin with.)

"You like it when I play superhero~" Chiaki teases light-heartedly and Izumi knows there's a stupid grin on the brunette's face even without looking; can already hear it in his voice, the mental image not helping with the headache he feels is coming sooner rather than later.

"I don't– you keep hurting yourself and I have to patch you up all the time. It's such a hassle," he drags out the syllables in the last sentence, putting emphasis on it because Chiaki is denser than most of the people Izumi cares to put up with.

" _You worry me,_ " goes unsaid.

"Then I'll be in your care for the next eternity, Nurse Sena."

His eyes snap open at the implication and he moves his body away to look at Chiaki who looks back at him. However, his reprimanding reply to the other's obvious avoidance of the last part—the one Izumi specifically emphasized—gets stuck in his throat at the title Chiaki has suddenly blessed him with because _seriously? Him? Taking care of people?_

Izumi hopes his feelings on the absurdity of that last statement show on his face.

"Haa? Well, if I'm going to get a fake medical degree then I might as well aim high and shoot for being a Doctor."

(Not that that option is impossible with his current grades but he'd rather it be pretend nonetheless.)

Chiaki looks up, his index finger tapping his chin in thought, "Doctor Sena…Doctor Izumi…" a smile breaks out on his face once he says the latter and he nods, "That does have a nice ring to it."

Izumi isn't even embarrassed anymore.

He leans back on the couch, looking away from Chiaki for second and brings his legs up, folding them at the knees. The heels of his feet keep him balance while he lays his hands limply against his stomach, his whole body relaxing once again. Their shoulders are touching with how close they're sitting but Izumi pays it no mind, welcomes the heat—the comfort it brings even.

"Of course it does. It must be fate." 

He turns his head, resting the side of it on the couch and smiles smugly at Chiaki. Ignoring the nagging voice in his head that's scolding him for acting childish.

 _It's okay,_ he reasons _, It's just Chia-kun._

"Speaking of Doctors…" Chiaki starts, pushing himself forward so suddenly that Izumi, who's leaning half his weight against the older boy, almost falls on his side.

Almost being the keyword.

Chiaki manages to save him and push him upright in no time, grinning widely at him, the bright smile almost blinding in this close a distance as he holds a full mug of hot chocolate with way too many marshmallows on top in the hand that's extended towards Izumi, offering him the sweet drink, "I'll be yours today. Now drink up before it gets cold."

"If I get fat, I am putting all the blame on you," he says but accepts it nonetheless. 

After all, Chiaki's hot chocolates are the best.

(Even if Izumi would never admit it outloud.)


End file.
